Intro

Welcome to our Big News section for all the latest news concerning Military Disability.

We'll do our best to keep you up to date on everything that could affect your disability. Since the majority of our news will cover legal issues that can be dragged out for a long time, if you'd like an update on an issue, let us know, and we'll do what we can.

Please feel free to comment and submit questions. We want to give you the information you need, so help us by letting us know what you want to know.

Monday, November 30, 2015

On November 5, the Wounded Warrior Federal Leave Act of 2015
was signed into law. This act entitles new federal employees who have a service-connected disability rated 30% or more to take leave without penalty (loss or reduction
in pay) in order to receive treatment for that disability. Basically, if you
have a rating of 30% or more from the VA and you need to receive treatment but you
haven’t earned enough sick leave to cover it, you can take up to 104 hours of
leave without being penalized.

Now this benefit only lasts for the first 12 months of your
federal employment. It begins on your first day, and whatever is left of the
104 hours at the end of your first year does not roll over to the next year,
but is forfeited. The purpose of this law is to help provide the necessary time
needed for care while you build up your own sick leave hours.

In order for you to utilize these hours without being
penalized, you will need to provide documentation that you received treatment
for your disability during this time.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The VA just launched the Hepatitis C-Advanced Liver Disease
(Hep C-ALD) Dashboard that aims to make it easier for the VA to identify and
accelerate treatment for veterans with ALD as a result of Hep C. The Hep C-ALD
dashboard uses a set of criteria such as gender, age, dates of service,
geography and ethnicity to identify veterans at greatest risk for developing
ALD as a result of Hep C.

Chronic Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne infection
in the world, yet 75% of those infected don’t know it. Serious complications
like liver damage leading to cirrhosis, primary liver cancer, liver failure, or
even death can occur when Hep C is left untreated. Using the data from the
dashboard, the VA can reach out to at-risk veterans and provide appropriate
care in a timely manner. For more information on the Hep C-ALD Dashboard, go to
www.hsrd.research.va.gov/news/video/heap.cfm.

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About Me

As a retired Air Force Colonel and physician, I am a Military Disability and VA Disability specialist. As a physician, I have specialties in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and healthcare administration. While on active duty, I had direct responsibility over preventive medicine for all military members in deployed environments and contingency operations. Since retiring, I have worked as a contractor for the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), reviewing military disability cases, and for the VA, performing C&P exams.